Two goals inside the opening 15 minutes of the match proved enough for Stoke City to claim a 2-0 win over Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium.

Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri proved key to the impressive victory, linking up for both of the strikes to help lift the Potters into the top half of the table.

It was an afternoon to forget for current league leaders Man City, on the other hand, as they failed to create any clear-cut chances of note to make it four away games without a win.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look back at who stood out across the 90 minutes of action.

STOKE CITY

Goal

Jack Butland: By no means his busiest afternoon, but he pulled off two saves in the first half to help keep a sixth clean sheet in eight outings. (7/10)

Defence

Glen Johnson: Had to get tight to Sterling to keep his former Liverpool teammate out of the game, which he did adequately enough. (7/10)

Ryan Shawcross: Back in the heart of defence following his one-match suspension and produced a solid display at the back as ever when marshalling the defensive unite. (7/10)

Philipp Wollscheid: Stoke's compact unit at the back nullified the opposition's attacking threats, with Man City unable to create any real openings of note. (7/10)

Erik Pieters: Got forward well at times, picking out Arnautovic with a fine cross from the left late in the first half. Says a lot about the visitors' performance that he was afforded so much space in attacking positions. (7/10)

Midfield

Bojan: Some very smart play on the ball at times, which earned him a strong applause when he left the field. Waltzed through the opposition backline at one stage like they were not there, only for Hart to push aside his shot. (7/10)

Geoff Cameron: Dominated the middle of the park, helping to justify manager Mark Hughes's decision to leave out Charlie Adam. Will surely start in the engine room against West Ham United now. (7/10)

Glenn Whelan: Tasked with helping to link play in the middle of the park, ensuring that moves kept on ticking over. Again, he would have been surprised by how little last-ditch defending he had to do in that area. (7/10)

Xherdan Shaqiri: Two superb assists in the first half and it could have been even better had Arnautovic not fluffed his lines when played through one on one. Did miss a glaring opening of his own, though. (8/10)

Ibrahim Afellay: Surprisingly named in the starting lineup this afternoon in place of Jonathan Walters, as Hughes went for a little craft and guile in attack. The risk certainly paid dividends. (7/10)

Attack

Marko Arnautovic: While Shaqiri's assists may have been close to perfection, the Austrian forward still had to keep his cool to finish off both attacks. Showed his true quality at times this afternoon, but will no doubt have been disappointed to miss a glorious chance for a first-half hat-trick. (8/10)

Substitutes

Joselu: Brought on for the final 20 minutes or so to simply provide a pair of fresh legs in the final third of the field. (6/10)

Marco van Ginkel: Was not able to truly influence the game during his short time on the pitch, as Stoke simply helped the clock run down. (5/10)

Jonathan Walters: Will have been greatly disappointed not to have played a starring role today, instead settling for a late cameo at the Britannia Stadium. (5/10)

MANCHESTER CITY

Goal

Joe Hart: Could have been far worse for the Citizens if not for the returning Hart. Pulled off a couple of important saves to rescue his fragile defence. (7/10)

Defence

Bacary Sagna: Caught out by Arnautovic for one of the goals and offered next to nothing going forward. Perhaps a little fortunate that he did not have to deal with star man Shaqiri. (4/10)

Nicolas Otamendi: Has looked promising in recent weeks, but this performance suggests that he still has a fair way to go before he fully adapts to the demands of English football. (5/10)

Martin Demichelis: One of the weakest defensive performances in the Sky Blue shirt from a defensive player for quite some time. The defending in the first half was truly abysmal at times, with Demichelis the worst of a bad bunch. (3/10)

Aleksandar Kolarov: Probably provided Man City's most dangerous attacking option, getting away a shot in each half, but he failed to cut out the passes for both goals which started down his flank. (5/10)

Midfield

Raheem Sterling: Barely got a touch in the first half and, a wayward shot aside, also offered next to nothing after the restart. Not ideal for a player now without a goal in any of his last eight games for club and country. (5/10)

Fernando: Given the run-around by Stoke's attacking players, before eventually limping off with injury 15 minutes from time to end his personal misery. Left his side, who had already used all three subs, down to 10 men. (4/10)

Fernandinho: For all of Yaya Toure's critics, they could really have done with him today. Fernandinho tried his best to make something happen, yet he was the one to make way for Delph on the hour. (6/10)

David Silva: Another who was a million miles from his best, but the Spaniard can perhaps be let off due to this being his first start in two months. (5/10)

Kevin De Bruyne: Came closest to scoring for the visitors just moments before his side conceded a second. Looked like the Citizens' best bet for a goal, though this goes down as an off day for the Belgian. (6/10)

Attack

Wilfried Bony: Had barely any service whatsoever all afternoon, yet the injured Sergio Aguero is the master of often making something from nothing. Just too many key men missing for City today. (4/10)

Substitutes

Fabian Delph: Did add a little bite in midfield when coming on, but that is just about all the summer signing did add. (6/10)

Kelechi Iheanacho: Like Bony before him, the youngster had so very little to feed off during his 30-minute appearance. (5/10)

Jesus Navas: The last of City's subs, all coming around the hour mark, introduced to add some added width. Struggled to grow into the game as Stoke saw out the win with ease. (5/10)